Impact of GxAlert on the management of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis patients, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

SETTING: MTB/RIF testing results. It was implemented for the notification of patients with rifampicin resistant-tuberculosis (RR-TB) at Port Moresby General Hospital, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, in May 2015. OBJECTIVE: To determine if there were differences in pre-treatment attrition, the time to treatment initiation and patient outcomes in the 12 months pre- and post-introduction of GxAlert for RR-TB patients. DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study. RESULTS: < 0.001) over these periods. However, our analysis of the time to treatment prior to the introduction of GxAlert suggests that a decrease had already occurred prior to implementation. There was no difference in interim clinical outcomes between the periods. CONCLUSION: Although a decrease in time to treatment initiation cannot be attributed to GxAlert, there was a significant improvement over the 2-year period, suggesting that considerable improvements have been made in timely RR-TB patient management in Port Moresby.